Walsh and Hoyt's Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology

Toxic and Deficiency Optic Neuropathies

"Physicians have known for centuries that the anterior visual pathways are vulnerable to damage from nutritional deficiency and chemicals."

"Physicians have known for centuries that the anterior visual pathways are vulnerable to damage from nutritional deficiency and chemicals. The resulting disorders share many signs and symptoms, and several appear to have a multifactorial etiology in which both undernutrition and toxicity play a role. In light of these facts, it is reasonable to group them together. Although evidence for the localization of the primary lesions is lacking in many of the so-called toxic and nutritional ‘‘amblyopias,'' they are generally assumed to be optic neuropathies and that is the rubric under which they are considered here."